Optical navigation systems detect relative movements between the optical navigation systems and navigation surfaces to perform tracking operations. An optical navigation system uses a light source to generate illumination light on a navigation surface and an image sensor to successively capture frames of image data of the navigation surface using reflected illumination light. The optical navigation system compares the successive frames of image data and estimates the relative movements between the optical navigation system and the navigation surface based on the comparison between the current frame of image data and a previous frame of image data. The optical navigation system is able to track the relative movements between the optical navigation system and the navigation surface by continuously capturing and comparing frames of image data. Optical navigation systems are commonly used in optical computer mice to track the lateral movements of the mice relative to the navigation surfaces on which the mice are manually manipulated.
Recently, there have been suggestions to use optical navigation systems in mobile robotic devices to optically track the movements of the mobile robotic devices. In the past, encoders on one or more wheels of a mobile robotic device have been used to track the movements of the mobile robotic device. However, these encoders suffer from performance issues when there is wheel slippage and when the mobile robotic device is traveling at an extremely low speed. Optical navigation systems do not suffer from these performance issues. However, conventional optical navigation systems do not work well in different environments or surfaces due to various limitations of these conventional optical navigation systems.
Thus, there is a need for a system and method for optically tracking a mobile robotic device that can work well in different environments or surfaces.